This blog is about life on board our narrowboat Sanity Again, cruising the inland waterways of the UK (mainly in the spring, summer and autumn) and living in a marina in the winter. It's the way I choose to write it; if you don't like it, there are many other boating blogs.

Tuesday, 18 August 2015

A short run to Buglawton

A pretty straightforward day today, with an eight o'clock start and a couple of hours cruise to Buglawton, just the other side of Congleton. Sheila steered whilst I did things below, making some bread dough (multiseed, wholemeal and oatmeal) and doing the breakfast washing up.

Buglawton has a waterpoint on the offside, just through Bridge 68 where we stopped at ten to fill the tank. Sheila had to do some nifty boathandling to get in as the mooring is literally just through the bridge, almost touching the abutment, and there was a CRT workboat exactly 70 feet along. Between us we managed it, yours truly popping across the end of the CRT boat onto the wharf to catch the centreline and pull Sanity Again back into position.

It doesn't help that there's nowhere to tie the sternline, so we had to make do with bow and centre. Whilst the tank was filling, I knocked back the dough and shaped it into rolls on a baking sheet. These were covered with oiled cling film and put back in the barely warm oven to prove. We then pulled across onto the towpath and tied for the day, just in nice time for coffee.

We've had warm rolls fresh from the oven for lunch, then taken a walk down the hill to the local Co-op to stock up on fruit and veg. For some reason the boat traffic has been fairly speeding past us, emphasising the value of the stern spring keeping us steady. Offenders have included hire boats, privateers, a CRT tug and, I'm sorry to say, a Braidbar. The Macc has more water than usual in it this summer, maybe the local boaters aren't used to being able to travel so fast... :(

Tomorrow, we'll do a flying start, as we want to get up Bosley and on to Lyme Green before lunch if we can. If not, we'll have to lunch on the move.

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Our eBooks

We've now written four e-books. We have been selling them via Amazon, but we've taken the decision to avoid benefitting from Amazon's tax avoidance strategies. Instead, if you would like a copy of any of these, please email me using the link below, saying which ereader you use. I'll send you a copy in return for a donation to a waterways or cancer charity of your choice.

Building Sanity Again is an account of just that, based on the blog I did whilst it was all going on and with an evaluative chapter added.

A Boater's Commonplace Book is Sheila's compilation of answers to the questions we've been asked during our time as liveaboard boaters such as "Is it cold in the winter?" and "How far have you been?"

Tales from the Towpath is another of Sheila's compilations, this time of all the funny things that have happened to us on the waterways over the last 35 years plus, together with some stories we've only heard about.

Practically Cooking on Board is my cookbook, using ingredients and equipment reasonably readily available to the boater. No sous vide or liquid nitrogen here!

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Cruising plan: Spring and Summer 2017

After a winter in the marina, we plan to set off again at the beginning of April, heading for Stourport, the Severn and then the Droitwich. Then we'll make our way back via Tardebigge, Lapworth and Hatton to arrive at Crick in good time for the Show.

After that, we may well head back north to the Llangollen, aiming to arrive at Poynton in late August for the Owners' Weekend and Open Day.